1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates to systems and methods for recording of data, specifically sounds, on a local storage device which is included as a portion of a larger object such as a toy. Specifically this disclosure relates to customer self-service local storage device recording for use in systems where final consumers participate in the manufacturing process of plush toys, and interactivity provided by having such a local storage device as a part of toys.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the world has become more advanced, virtually every aspect of human existence has incorporated new technologies. In many respects, toys, generally objects used for play to train children for future life and often designed to be versions of objects used by adults, have been around for as long as mankind Because toys are designed for play intended to teach behavior, as the world has changed, toys have changed to allow for children to play with objects that have become commonplace.
Prior to the invention of the telephone, there was no need for toy telephones. Similarly, prior to the invention of the automobile, there were no toy cars or trucks. While the types of toys emulate the environment in which children grow, toys also gain increased functionality as technology provides for better and safer ways to incorporate into toys functionalities that are provided by devices that are often sophisticated machines more so than playthings.
An early toy telephone may look like a telephone, but generally did not provide for parts that operated like those of a real telephone. However, as technology has improved, toy telephones now incorporate moveable buttons which control computer chips so that the telephone not only can be manipulated like a real telephone, but can be interactive and provide tactile, audible, and visual stimulation and feedback.
One major advancement in toys is the ability of them to provide audible stimulation (sound). Originally, sounds were often provided by mechanical means, such as by having a bell that movement of a component of the toy would strike. While this was effective for certain sounds and types of toys, this type of technology could not produce complicated sounds such as speech and is often only suitable for certain limited applications.
With the commoditization of recording technologies, the ability to include sound in toys suddenly became feasible. Toys have traditionally had fixed recorded chips where the push of a specific button or a particular activation of a toy could produce a specific series of associated sounds. For example, a toy tractor may make engine noise as the toy moved across the floor, or a recording of a farmer's speech may play when a button associated with him is pressed.
While the ability to include such recorded sound in a toy was an advancement because it allowed for sounds to be reproduced from a recording instead of created by the toy, the consumer had no control over the sounds included. Instead, the sounds were preprogrammed and preassembled into components of the toy. Thus, the consumer was stuck with whatever sounds the toy had regardless as to the desirability of these sounds to the child, or the annoyance of the sounds to the parent.
One area where sound in toys is particularly common is in plush toys. As these toys are often used by the child as a comfort object, the ability for the toy to issue soothing or reassuring sounds, or to provide sounds or speech associated with parents can be particularly desirable. Plush toys commonly include sound devices to allow them to tell stories, to speak certain phrases, and even to emulate sounds in a mother's womb.
Even as sound provision has become more sophisticated, with audio tape players being replaced by solid state chips and MP3 compression technology, one thing has generally remained the same when it came to sounds in toys: the final consumer is always limited by available sounds to those that have been prerecorded on the sound device and included with the toy. Specifically, the chips only have sounds chosen by the manufacturer. Even toys which included sophisticated sound players such as integrated cassette decks (e.g., Teddy Ruxpin™) are often limited to having to use prerecorded media of the manufacturer in order for the media to interact with the toy.
In the last 15 years, the manufacturing process of toys has become additionally personalized through the advent of toy stores where the toy is not just purchased off a rack, but is manufactured by the child themselves. One such type of store is the Build-a-Bear Workshop™ store where a person can construct a toy from various provided components. Part of the entertainment value of the toy is the ability of the child to be part of the toy's process of manufacture. In these types of on-demand and self-service manufacturing methodologies, the child is present for the toy's creation and construction, and the toy is often more personalized because the child has made personal decisions about the design of the toy. This can include decisions as to the toy's design and what additional components or functionality it includes.
In effect, the toy becomes more capable of reflecting the toy's owner because its owner is also, in many respects, its creator. This is beneficial both for children in making customized toys and for toys which are given to the child. The latter instance often has a more personal connection as associated with the person who made and gave the toy to the child because of the personalization. Further, the very process of building a toy is “play” which emulates modern manufacturing and construction techniques. Further, toy stores are also becoming play destinations where the toy is viewed as a “friend” or “companion” allowed to take part in the child's activities instead of an inanimate object.
One of the personalizations of these customer manufactured toys is sound. Traditionally, construction of a toy by a final consumer allows for the selection by the final consumer as to whether or not to include a sound chip for provision of sound in the toy, but the final consumer was still limited to the sounds provided on prerecorded chips. While technology existed which allowed recording a custom sound (e.g., the voice of the person creating the toy), other sounds could not be used due to licensing concerns and the difficulty in programming a device at the point-of-sale and on-demand by the final consumer. For example, if the final consumer wanted a toy to play a specific song, that song had to be available on a prerecorded chip: there was no way for the song to be recorded for the consumer at the point they were making the decision as to whether to add sound to the toy.
This situation presented two problems. In the first instance, the person's selection was dictated by the manufacturer and the number of available professionally produced sounds was generally limited by available inventory space. Secondly, the party providing the local storage devices for inclusion had to choose sound material of widespread interest because otherwise they could end up with dead stock of sound chips including less desirable sounds that could result in a significant wasted investment.